Empty laundry room of all hanging items so I don’t feel like I am entering the Rain Forest every time I go in there

Set up a coffee meeting with new graphic designer

Like you, I am feeling a little down now that all the who-hoo of the holidays is over. And normally, we would all be discussing our New Year’s Resolutions right about now, most of which we have resolved to do several years in a row � lose weight, work out more, read more, travel more-- more, more, more. Sigh. No wonder we get stopped in our tracks and by Valentines’ Day the resolutions we so heartily embraced have been shelved for more realistic ones -- try to get up 30 (. . .15) minutes early to clean snow off car; DO NOT stop at coffeehouse on way to work to grab a ginormous muffin for breakfast; move away from the TV and read instead of checking in on those big losers.

We have good intentions -- and the road to you-know-where is paved with them -- but sometimes, most of the time, life gets in the way. It’s easy to say that we will lose weight in 2008, but if we haven’t put a plan into action to accomplish that, we will most likely fail. And failing is not an option, at least at this point in the year. Well, OK, maybe it is, but if we could only hold onto our resolve for a little while longer, maybe we could still be going strong at St. Patrick’s Day or even Memorial Day. Now wouldn’t that be something?

I wish you much luck and many blessings for your goals for the New Year. But one I would suggest you add is that you have something to look forward to each and every day. No matter how big or small, having something positive or fun to focus on as we go about accomplishing the minutiae of daily living can help pull us through the gloom.

As you sit in another boring meeting at work or in rush hour traffic, you might want to think instead about the new mystery book waiting next to your favorite chair you can crack open when you get home. Or the day you set aside to spend time with your grandchildren to leech off some of their natural joy.

Meeting a friend for coffee, inviting people over to watch a game or a movie, taking your camera out into the snow and snapping photos of winter’s beauty -- whatever it is, allow yourself fun things to lift you up as you wend your way through the days of winter.